At the Institute of International Education's awards gala on September 18th at New York’s Cipriani Wall Street, nearly 500 business, education, government, foundation, and policy leaders celebrated the 2012 award winners’ commitment to the Institute’s mission of Opening Minds to the World and rescuing threatened scholars. The event raised $1.2 million for the Institute of International Education and $6 million in support of IIE's Scholar Rescue Fund, which includes $3 million in new gifts and a $3 million match from SRF's founding Chairman, Dr. Henry Jarecki. At the event, Dr. Jarecki announced that he will become Chairman Emeritus and turn over the role of Chairman to Mark Angelson, who is the Treasurer of IIE's Board of Trustees and a longtime member of the SRF Advisory Board. 

Noted New York financial world leaders Henry Jarecki, Henry Kaufman, Thomas Russo, and George Soros, the founders of IIE’s Scholar Rescue Fund, received IIE’s Humanitarian Award for their visionary leadership that has saved the lives and work of hundreds of threatened scholars. Senator Patrick J. Leahy was the special guest presenter for this award. Princess Ghida Talal of Jordan, who was an honorary co-chair for the event, spoke about the award recipients' outstanding commitment to the fund, and noted that their work has made a remarkable impact in protecting threatened academics and advancing academic freedom around the world. 

IIE presented Western Union President and Chief Executive Officer Hikmet Ersek with its Opening Minds Corporate Leadership Award on behalf of the company, in recognition of Western Union’s exemplary leadership and outstanding commitment to education and corporate social responsibility around the globe. In addition, HE John Atta Mills, President of Ghana, was honored posthumously with The Fritz Redlich Alumni Award, in recognition of his highly distinguished career as a president whose commitment to education helped prepare an entire generation in Ghana for today's competitive, globalized economy. 

For more information, including slideshows and videos of the IIE Gala, please visit: www.iie.org/gala.

Enhancing the Quality of English Language Education in Ethiopia, a new briefing paper from the Institute of International Education, serves as a useful follow-up to a March 2012 future search conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on English language education in Ethiopia. The conference was sponsored by the Embassy of the United States of America, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education in the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the Institute of International Education, and Ambo University.

This IIE briefing paper provides the texts of conference remarks by the keynote speakers and many distinguished panelists who spoke on the state of English language education in Ethiopia. In addition, it gives a detailed summary of the Future Search process, in which stakeholders from the Ethiopian educational, governmental, and business sectors discussed past, present, and desired future trends in English language education. The briefing paper concludes with substantive group and individual action plans for improving English language education in Ethiopia.

To download the briefing paper, please visit: www.iie.org/Research-and-Publications/Publications-and-Reports/IIE-Bookstore/English-Language-Education-Ethiopia.

More than 150 chancellors and presidents of U.S. universities sent a letter to President Barack Obama and to all members of Congress urging members of both parties to find a bipartisan solution to visa reform that would provide green cards for foreign-born students who earn advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. The signatories included universities large and small, and from all 50 states. 

The letter calls this issue "a critical threat to America’s preeminence as a global center of innovation and prosperity," citing a new report, "Patent Pending," that found that in 2011, foreign-born inventors were contributors on 76 percent of patents issued to the top 10 patent-producing universities in the United States. The presidents warn that "there is a growing skill gap across America’s industries. One quarter of US science and engineering firms already report difficulty hiring, and the problem will only worsen." 

The letter was organized by the Partnership for a New American Economy as part of the coalition’s campaign to make STEM immigration reform a priority by repeatedly producing evidence of the value of STEM immigration reform and of broad bipartisan support from Americans.  

To read the letter, please visit: www.renewoureconomy.org/sites/all/themes/pnae/university-letter.pdf.

On Opening Minds, IIE’s recently launched blog, Raisa Belyavina, the Senior Research Officer at IIE’s Center for Academic Mobility Research, discusses the many national and institutional policies that are making German higher education institutions even more international student friendly. As Belyavina notes, "Germany has begun to implement policies that will remedy a declining pool of German graduates: significant inroads in implementing the Bologna reforms, offering subsidized or free education—with hundreds of programs in English—for international students, and liberalizing immigration policies for students with a German degree. As Germany begins to confront the challenge of declining domestic enrollment, attracting top students from around the world will become even more important."

To read the full post, please visit: www.iie.org/Blog/2012/September/Making-German-Institutions-International-Student-Friendly.

An article in Inside Higher Ed reports on a panel about English-language education held at the European Association for International Education conference this past week in Ireland. The panelists concluded that "European universities continue to respond to enormous demand from international students for English-language courses, and should develop robust language policies that articulate an appropriate balance of English and other global and national languages in the curriculum."

To read the full article, please visit: www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/09/13/panelists-debate-lingua-academia-vs-linguistic-diversity. To download IIE’s briefing paper on English-Taught Master’s Programs in Europe, please go to: www.iie.org/Research-and-Publications/Publications-and-Reports/IIE-Bookstore/English-Language-Masters-Briefing-Paper.

The September edition of the UK HE International Unit: International Focus Newsletter is now available. This issue examines the changing face of higher education delivered at a distance, and includes items on the future of distance learning, the challenges in managing international distance education programs, open access, the role that distance education has played in China’s efforts to diversify its higher education sector, and opportunities for distance learning in Africa.

To access the newsletter, please visit: www.international.ac.uk/media/2146970/International_Focus_84.pdf.

An article in Inside Higher Ed reports on the new accrediting council created by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). "Through the new CHEA International Quality Group, the council—which represents American colleges and universities that are accredited by agencies that it recognizes—aims to bring together colleges, accreditors, quality assurance agencies and associations from around the world to work together on dealing with quality-related issues in higher education."

To read the full article, please visit: www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2012/09/14/accrediting-council-creates-group-international-quality-assurance.

An article in State Magazine discusses the many challenges and opportunities of advising U.S.-bound Saudi students. The Education Advising Centers in Saudi Arabia are "an integral part of the mission’s public affairs section, fulfilling the U.S. Department of State’s mandate to engage youth and promote education in the United States. The centers, in Embassy Riyadh and Consulates General Jeddah and Dhahran, are part of the EducationUSA global network of 170 advising centers supported by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs." 

To read the full article, please visit: http://digitaledition.state.gov/publication/?m=11956&l=1.

An article in Inside Higher Ed highlights the trends that leaders in international higher education expect to inform the future of the field. Among the trends discussed at the European Association for International Education conference in Dublin, Ireland, were "the potential of massively open online courses (MOOCs), asymmetries in international exchange, the link between university education and employment, and the rise of research universities in Asia."

To read the full article, please visit: www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/09/17/international-educators-consider-future-field.

The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program is pleased to announce a redesign of its website: www.humphreyfellowship.org. In addition to a new look, the site improves ability to display current and past Humphrey Fellow stories and network via social media. The new site makes it easier for prospective applicants to find eligibility and application information, including current program fields, eligible countries, selection process, and program design. Password-protected sections provide a repository of information and online discussion features for current Humphrey Fellows, alumni, campus cohort administrators, and contacts at U.S. Embassies and Fulbright Commissions. Visitors to the site are welcome to explore our continually updated interactive alumni map.

Initiated in 1979, the Humphrey Program, a Fulbright exchange activity, brings accomplished professionals with leadership ability and a dedication to public service to the United States at a midpoint in their careers. The Program enables participants to establish lasting ties with their professional counterparts in the United States and in other countries through ten months of non-degree academic study and professional development. The Institute of International Education (IIE) assists the U.S. Department of State in administering the Humphrey Fellowship Program.

Please visit the new website at www.humphreyfellowship.org.

The World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) will convene for its fourth annual Summit on November 13-15, 2012, in Doha, Qatar. WISE is a global forum dedicated to innovative thinking about building the future of education, with over 1,000 leaders and practitioners taking part from education, government, international organizations, business, social enterprise and the media.

WISE is pleased to announce that 200 places at the Summit have now been made available. WISE 2012 offers the chance to participate in three days of debate, dialogue, and networking under the theme, "Collaborating for Change." You will be able to connect with education stakeholders from more than 100 countries, including the winners of the 2012 WISE Awards, which recognize successful innovative projects from around the world. You may also attend the presentation ceremony of the second WISE Prize for Education, awarded to an individual or a team that has been selected by an International Jury for an outstanding contribution to education, and hear the Laureate's address.

For application information, including price and travel arrangements, please visit: www.wise-qatar.org/content/wise-2012-apply-now.

IIENetworker, the international education magazine of the Institute of International Education (IIE), invites submissions for publication in its upcoming Spring 2013 issue. The theme of the spring issue of IIENetworker will be: "Higher Education and International Development." 

This issue of the IIENetworker will examine innovative programs, initiatives, and strategies that colleges, universities, and other organizations have devised and implemented in relation to international development. Proposed articles should focus on: strategic planning and institutional capacity building; forming global higher education linkages; leadership training; international research collaboration; access and equality; joint curriculum development; and technological challenges and innovations.

We are particularly interested in presenting a variety of perspectives from around the globe. Submissions from individuals or institutions around the world are strongly encouraged. 

Most articles in the magazine will be between 2 and 4 pages (between 1000 and 1500 words). 

Please let us know as soon as possible if you plan to submit an article. The deadline for submission of completed articles is December 14, 2012. The author will be notified as soon as a publication decision is made.

If you are interested in submitting an article for the Spring 2013 issue of IIENetworker, please address all inquiries to:

Shannon Harrison

Co-Editor, IIENetworker

Institute of International Education

Email: sharrison@iie.org

Tel: +1.212.984.5370

For more information on IIENetworker, please visit: www.iie.org/iienetworker.

The Fulbright Classroom Teacher Exchange Program (CTE) and the Distinguished Fulbright Awards in Teaching Program (DA) provide U.S. primary and secondary teachers with unique opportunities to exchange teaching positions with an international teacher or to participate in an independent research project abroad. The Fulbright Teacher programs are sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. U.S. teachers may apply for programs during the 2013-2014 school year in Argentina, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Hungary, India, Mexico, Morocco, Singapore, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. 

For more information about eligibility requirements, benefits, and the impact of these programs, please visit the program website, www.fulbrightteacherexchange.org. If you have questions, please contact fulbrightcte@iie.org or fulbrightdat@iie.org.

U.S. universities, colleges, and public libraries are encouraged to apply for U.S. Institute of Peace Public Education for Peacebuilding Support. Through this initiative, administered by IIE, USIP will enable American institutions and public libraries to hold events that advance and promote peacebuilding and international conflict resolution.

The support may be used for a variety of activities or events, including educational or training workshops, lectures, speaker programs, library forums, and web-based forums.

For more information or to download an application, please go to www.iie.org/usipsupport. 

USIP is an independent, nonpartisan institution established and funded by Congress to increase the nation’s capacity to manage international conflict without violence. By supporting events across the country that cover a wide range of peace and conflict mitigation topics, USIP aims to contribute in a significant way to the national conversation on addressing and preventing international conflict.

Over the next year, this initiative will provide $2,000 each to 250 U.S. institutions and public libraries. The activity or event must address issues of international conflict, and its resolution and be held during the spring 2013 academic semester. The application deadline is November 1, 2012, and recipients will be announced in December 2012. All accredited U.S. colleges and universities, as well as public libraries are eligible to apply.

For more information and to download the application, please go to www.iie.org/usipsupport or email usipsupport@iie.org. 

The Fung Global Fellows Program, a yearlong program for visiting scholars administered by the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies, was launched by Princeton University in June 2012. Scholars working in the social sciences and humanities at institutions in any region of the world outside the United States who have received their Ph.D. within the past ten years are invited to apply. The theme for the academic year 2013-14, the program’s first year, is "Languages and Authority."   

Applications are due on November 1, 2012. For more information on the program, eligibility requirements, and application process, please visit: www.princeton.edu/funggfp/. 

An article in University World News highlights the tenth anniversary of IIE’s Scholar Rescue Fund (SRF). Building on IIE’s longstanding tradition of rescuing threatened scholars, four IIE trustees—Henry Jarecki, Henry Kaufman, George Soros and Thomas A Russo—created in 2002 a "permanent, formalized framework for responding to the humanitarian and academic needs of scholars whose lives and research are under threat for their beliefs or because of events in their countries." Over the past decade, the Scholar Rescue Fund has provided fellowships for established scholars whose lives and work are threatened in their home countries. These fellowships permit professors, researchers, and other senior academics to find temporary refuge at universities and colleges anywhere in the world, enabling them to pursue their academic work and to continue to share their knowledge with students, colleagues, and the community at large.

Mark Angelson, the incoming SRF chair, argues that the work that SRF undertakes will be more important than ever in the near future, since SRF is able to "respond in the most immediate and impactful ways to challenges as they arise—including large-scale country-specific emergencies, as in Iraq and now potentially in Syria. We would like to increase our resources to better meet the high demand for our fellowships."

To read the full article, please visit: www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20120914114623251.

To mark its 10th anniversary, IIE's Scholar Rescue Fund (SRF) is featuring the inspiring stories of 10 threatened scholars whose lives and academic work have been saved by the Fund. 

Dr. Khalida Al Mousawy, a professor of clinical immunology from Iraq, suffered vicious threats and public attacks from members of the student body and other factions of the University of Baghdad. An SRF fellowship allowed her to spend one year at the University of South Carolina and her renewal year at the King Hussein Cancer Center (KHCC) in Amman, where she was able to apply the research methods she learned in the United States to benefit cancer patients in the MENA region. 

Read more about Dr. Khalida’s life and work here: www.scholarrescuefund.org/pages/posts/dr.-khalida-al-mousawy65.php.